Binding of CDK9 to TRAF2

CDK9 has been recently shown to have increased kinase activity in differentiated cells in culture and a differentiated tissue-specific expression in the developing mouse. In order to identify factors that contribute to CDK9's differentiation-specific function, we screened a mouse embryonic library in the yeast two-hybrid system and found a tumor necrosis factor signal transducer, TRAF2, to be an interacting protein. CDK9 interacts with a conserved domain in the TRAF-C region of TRAF2, a motif that is known to bind other kinases involved in TRAF-mediated signaling. Endogenous interaction between the two proteins appears to be specific to differentiated tissue. TRAF2-mediated signaling may incorporate additional kinases to signal cell survival in myotubes, a cell type that is severely affected in TRAF2 knockout mice.